The grand finale is here.
The final 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings have made it to East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for the Tour Championship. This year, however, there will be no starting strokes. Whoever wins the tournament outright will claim PGA Tour’s season-long title, and $10 million from the $40 million purse.
From its field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s everything you need to know for the 2025 Tour Championship.
The field
The field is highlighted by FedEx Cup points leader Scottie Scheffler, who, fresh off a win last week, is trying to become the FedEx Cup’s first back-to-back champion.
As for the 29 other players in the field, let’s dig a little deeper.
There’s six former FedEx Cup champions: Scheffler (2024), Viktor Hovland (2023), Rory McIlroy (2016, 2019, 2022), Patrick Cantlay (2021), Justin Rose (2018) and Justin Thomas (2017).
Plus, seven Tour Championship debutatnts: J.J. Spaun, Ben Griffin,, Maverick McNealy, Andrew Novak, Harry Hall, Jacob Bridgeman and Chris Gotterup.
Despite not winning this season, eight players received a two-year exemption on Tour through 2027 for making it to East Lake: Tommy Fleetwood, McNealy, Corey Conners, Shane Lowry, Hall, Bridgeman, Sungjae Im and Akshay Bhatia.
Of three first-time Tour champions in 2025, three are teeing it up in Atlanta: Griffin, Novak and Cam Young.
Out of 35 rookies on Tour, none made it to the season finale.
An unforgettable season for Scottie Scheffler! 🏆
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 1, 2024
He is the only player to win @THEPLAYERS, @TheMasters and the @TOURChamp in the same season. pic.twitter.com/q8bH1vdKmp
The course
Pebble Beach, the Olympic Club, Pinehurst and Harbour Town has all hosted a Tour Championship since its inception in 1987.
However, since 2004, it’s been held at East Lake. It’s a course with some endearing qualities, but for the PGA Tour’s so-called Super Bowl, many feel there’s some left to be desired, which is why discussions are being had about possibly of moving it in the near future.
“I don’t hear fans say it is an exciting golf course to watch golf. I know it does a lot for the community and that’s very important, but I think it would be cool for our biggest trophy to be given away at a course that really excites fans,” Peter Malnati, a PGA Tour policy board player director, told Golfweek. “But there is a lot of things that have to be done in the right way to make that happen. I think East Lake works really hard to be an amazing host. I’d love to see our fans be excited about where we play the Tour Championship in addition to the tournament itself.”
Regardless, the course is a 7,440-yard par-70 with an average green size of 6,238 square feet, 78 bunkers, five water hazards, 29 acres of fairway and 70 acres of rough.
In 2024, East Lake was the eighth-easiest course on Tour (out of 50), yielding a scoring average of 68.618 (2.383 strokes under par). It did boast the fourth-hardest hole on Tour last season, the 510-yard par-4 1st, with a scoring average of 4.425. Its easiest hole, meanwhile, was the 580-yard par-5 14th, surrendering a 4.333 scoring average. Out of 900 holes on Tour, it was the 14th easiest.
History: Twenty-eight
Almost everyone remembers the pandemonium when Tiger Woods ended 1,876-day winless streak by winning the 2018 Tour Championship.
It might not be his most impressive feat at East Lake, though.
En route to winning the 2007 Tour Championship and FedEx Cup title, he had a nine-hole stretch for the ages.
On the morning of Round 2, Woods sliced his opening tee shot, hitting a fan, but scrambled for par. Another par ensued. And a third, despite missing the fairway and hitting a lackluster approach. Then finally came a birdie on No. 4.
That was the start of something special, even for Woods’s standards.
On the par-4 5th, he again sliced his drive and hit his second shot into the greenside bunker. However, even though the lie was poor, he holed his swing from the sand.
He tallied another birdie on the par-3 6th with a long putt, made eagle on No. 7, stuck a wedge to about 5 feet on No. 8 for birdie before dropping a 70-foot eagle putt on No. 9.
“Was just trying to get it close [on No. 9],” Woods said. “I was concentrating on my speed and trying to leave myself no second putt, trying to make sure I had a little tap-in for my second putt. Lo and behold, it was a bomb and goes in.”
Woods carded a 7-under 28, the lowest front nine score of his career. He had an even par back nine, though, and shot 63 for the round.
Yet, Woods wasn’t even aware of his historical start until after his round.
“You say I shot 28,” Woods told reporters after. “I didn’t know I shot that until I got in the scoring tent. You just play shot for shot, hole for hole, and you just get lost into that type of rhythm and that type of mindset and you don’t really realize the score you’re at. I just knew that at the time I had a three-shot lead over Woody [Austin] and I just wanted to make sure I could try and increase that on the back nine.”
And in typical Woods fashion, he was agonizing over his mishaps, rather than celebrating his achievement.
“I felt if I shot under par [on the back nine] I would increase my lead,” he said, “and that would have been the case if I would have done it. But two bogeys on the back nine kind of derailed that.”
The lowest front 9 of @TigerWoods' career 🤯
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 24, 2022
Throwback to his 28 at the 2007 @PlayoffFinale.#TOURVault pic.twitter.com/mBmh24vViK
How to watch (all times EST)
- Thursday: 1–6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Friday: 1–6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
- Saturday: 1–2:30 p.m (Golf Channel); 2:30–7 p.m (NBC)
- Sunday: Noon–1:30 p.m (Golf Channel); 1:30–6 p.m (NBC)
ESPN+ will also have featured coverage during each round.
Round 1 tee times
Pairings and starting times for the first round of the TOUR Championship pic.twitter.com/Gi5flqH5Kn
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 18, 2025
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tour Championship Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch.
